Mitigation

Some large IT companies in India are taking the lead to reduce their carbon footprints by enabling their employees to commute by public transport, without the usual delays, discomforts and dangers

Infosys, India’s second largest IT company, is to spend Rs 400 crore ($62.7 million) to turn carbon-neutral by 2018 by saving on commuting and travel by its 180,000-odd employees. The $8.7 billion company – with clients in 50 countries…Read more

With environment ministry officials holding discussions with industry representatives on July 10, India is finalizing its position on HFC phase-out in preparation for a global meet in Paris later this month

India, a late and reluctant entrant into global discussions on phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – coolant gases used in refrigerators and air-conditioners and with high global…Read more

Clean energy investments in India show an increase of 59% in the first three months of 2015 alone. Even as Modi govt ramps up policy support to boost solar energy, even greater action is needed to achieve the target of 100 GW by 2020

The Indian solar market is growing at a rapid clip. The market recently exceeded 4 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar energy and is headed toward becoming one of the largest global…Read more

World Resources Institute releases an interactive map of the current state of global emissions. Findings show that the top 10 emitters contribute to 72 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions but on the other hand, the lowest 100 emitters contribute to just less than 3 percent

In the past couple of weeks, climate change has captured the headlines: Leaders of the G7 agreed to a decarbonization of the global…Read more

The largest single investment in the Indian economy by a foreign organization has been announced – $20 billion to generate 20 gigawatts of solar energy. The Prime Minister’s goal to generate 100 GW by 2022 now looks a little more achievable

Japan’s SoftBank Corp has just announced that it will invest $20 billion over the next ten years to generate 20 gigawatt of solar power in India. The investment will be in association with Indian…Read more

Of the eight missions outlined in India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change, the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency is usually considered to be ahead of others. As it starts on an ambitious venture capital fund scheme, to what extent has the mission been able to achieve its objectives, and what are its prospects?

It is the country’s biggest initiative to make the most of sunny days. Initiated as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, the Solar Mission has propelled the country to new heights as far as clean energy is concerned. It is projected that by 2017, India will be among the top three solar markets

It was in 2006 that S.P. Gon Chaudhuri, a well-known renewable energy consultant, wrote the concept note on the Solar Mission…Read more

Addressing the problem of congestion is critical towards transition to low carbon transport. A recent study shows that Chennai lost over Rs 700 crore due to traffic congestion in 2009. And this cost of congestion is likely to double by next year. Is it time to take a cue from London and levy congestion charges in Indian cities?

﻿﻿Narendra Modi’s ambitious solar energy expansion may be scuppered by lack of water, particularly in arid regions where the biggest solar farms are planned

Enthusiasm for solar energy has grown recently with the dramatic fall in prices of solar photovoltaic equipment and the global drive to switch to ‘cleaner’ energy sources. In India, the government hopes to establish the country as a leader…Read more

With $100 billion needed for India’s ambitious 100GW solar plan, the finance minister has doubled a cess on coal twice within the last nine months, but his 2015 budget is weak on measures to check air and water pollution

India took an important step on Saturday to finance its ambitious plan to generate 100 gigawatts of solar power by 2022, by doubling the cess on coal. Presenting the country’s annual…Read more

This latest report by Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research concludes that in 2016, total global greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase by about 0.5% reaching 49.3 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent…Read more

The latest edition of the report shows that India added 678 MW of rooftop solar capacity in the financial year ended March 31, growing at 81% year-on-year and reaching a total installed capacity of 1.4 GW. Strong market fundamentals including falling costs and improving debt financing mean that the segment will continue its strong growth trajectory…Read more

G20 countries have stepped up green finance, but their investment in fossil fuels remains so high that the well below 2 degree warming limits set in the Paris Agreement will be missed by a wide margin, says the 2017 report. This third edition of the annual report provides a comprehensive overview of the G20 countries on how they are doing on the journey to transition to a low-carbon economy. It assesses the main trends for the G20 in emissions, climate policy performance, finance and decarbonisation…Read more

Natural Resources Defense Council, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, Skill Council of Green Jobs, 20.06.17

India’s clean energy goals have the potential to put 34,583 people to work in wind power, 58,647 in utility solar and 237,980 in rooftop solar jobs over the next five years. Solar jobs will be well distributed across India, with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in the lead. Wind jobs, like wind capacity, are likely to be concentrated in a few states that have high wind potential…Read more

This research report presents the first comprehensive overview of the multiple climate hazard risks, and the proposed key issues and challenges facing South Asia. It suggests methods for mapping such risks and estimating their impacts on people and agriculture in South Asia by carrying out regional, country-wise and sub-national assessment of five climate-related risks that include floods, droughts, extreme rainfall, extreme temperature and sea-level rise…Read more

A new report by UN Environment, the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance tells the story of the latest developments, signs and signals in the financing of renewable power and fuels. The report says that the investment in renewables capacity in 2016 was roughly double of that in fossil fuel generation, although total investment was $241.6 billion (excluding large hydro), the lowest since 2013…Read more

India may save more than USD 1 trillion through smart urban growth or face traffic congestion, air pollution, traffic fatalities and poor health, according to a new report by the World Resource Institute.

Renewables and natural gas are the big winners in the race to meet energy demand growth until 2040, according to the latest edition of the World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency’s flagship publication.

A new report by GWEC says wind power could reach 2,110 GW by 2030, supply up to 20% of global electricity, reduce CO2 emissions by more than 3.3 billion tonnes per year, and attract annual investment of about €200 billion. India is among the top five markets for wind power…Read more

India’s ambitious targets of installing 100GW of solar power capacity by 2022 as well as doubling farm incomes by the same year could be a game-changer for rural India if they are implemented in tandem, new research suggests…Read more

More than 180 countries submitted pledges on climate action – the Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs – in the run-up to the historic Paris Agreement at COP21 in December 2015. To help countries meet this challenge, the World Bank Group has adopted a new Climate Change Action Plan, which lays out concrete actions to help countries deliver on their NDCs…Read more